What is good DIY glue for talus/rocks to layout? - Model Railroader Magazine

 Heres what I do for scenery\ballasting.

  I use  Aileens Tacky glue for bushes\trees\large rocks....paint it on nice and thick, attach bushes.Trees..... Bore a hole and insert tree with a generous blob of glue on the tip of the trunk.  This is where the tacky type of glue is nice...it grabs immediately so you usually don't need to brace anything. Rocks just need a glob of glue on the bottom and set them in place...unless your gluing them to a slope or vertical surface...then you will need to secure them with something.....I use the blue painters tape....it holds just enough to keep the item in place but won't tear anything loose when you remove it.

  For grass, like WS ground foam, I use regular white glue, I buy it by the gallon from Lowes, and I use a wide paint brush to spread a fairly thick even coat over the area I'm going to cover with foam.

 Then I use the big shaker bottle of foam to give it a nice even coat, the foam will absorb the glue and once dry it won't come loose easily. You can also spray the foam with some ''wet'' water to help it absorb the glue.

 For ballast I use a thinned mix of white glue and some water\detergent {''wet'' water] as a wetting agent.  I spray the ballast [once I have it spread to my liking] using a Windex bottle or similar sprayer, just enough to get it moist, then I use a cheap plastic ketchup bottle to apply the glue mix, the spout gives you pretty good control over the amount of glue you put down  and the area where you're putting it. The eyedropper method works very well too,  just takes a bit longer.

  I use the same method for talus or loose rocks along the track, but I use full strength white glue.  I spray the talus with ''wet'' water, then while it's moist apply white glue to the talus, making sure it gets a nice coating. Once dry its nice and hard and won't be working loose and getting on the track.

  I also combine methods, paint a nice thick coat of white glue on an area to be covered, apply the covering [foam, rock, ballast] then spray it with ''wet'' water. The glue will be drawn up into the covering and dry into a nice hard lump.  This has worked well for me when making gravel roads or parking lots.

   I also wouldn't recommend spraying glue, it will get all over everything and unless you cover your trackwork you will have to do a lot of cleaning.